NEW AMAZONIAN MAMMAL SPECIES

The Collared Peccaries (Pecari tajacu) subjected to the pointillist treatment above are common mammals through most of the Neotropical region, extending north into Texas and Arizona. A larger, somewhat less common species, Tayassu pecari, is found in the moister parts of the same range. In 1975, a new peccary, Catagonus wagneri, was discovered in the Gran Chaco region, where Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina meet. Early next year, the Dutch primatologist, Marc van Roosmalen, will describe a fourth member of the family: a new, giant species of Amazonian peccary, Pecari maximus. Van Roosmalen is known best for having described a number of New World monkey species, and lately he's kept himself busy looking for more overlooked Amazonian mammals. His giant peccary is rather old news at this point, but he claims to have an amazing list of mammal taxa new to science, including two more peccaries, a dwarf manatee, a large new arboreal anteater, a new big cat, etc., etc. Many of these "new taxa" are little more than conjectural, but if the information is correct, there's a lot of very exciting stuff there. Darren Naish has received permission to reproduce van Roosmalen's data and images, and he's already got two posts up on his always excellent blog, Tetrapod Zoology (with three more slated to go up later today). Have a look!
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illustration: JAGUAR & COLLARED PECCARIES (1994) oil 42" x 32"